On Our Own
by Dragon-Rider12
Summary: Xephmadia Wilderness Survival AU. With society as we know it in tatters, two unlikely survivors team up in order to make their way to a rumored refuge far up north. Can they endure the harsh trials of the untamed mountains, or are they doomed to fail in their search for a place to start over?
1. Chapter 1

No one was quite sure how it all started. All anyone knew for certain was that society suddenly collapsed in on itself one day. The economy plummeted, anarchy rose up in every major city, and many people began to die in the ensuing chaos. People began to stick to their own, often killing others before asking questions. Trust between neighbors was a thing of the past. It was like everyone had reverted back into primitive savages.

Before modern civilization began to die out, back when life went on as usual, she had been in charge of an owl sanctuary in a small rural town out in the middle of nowhere. Despite its limited connections with the rest of the world, the chaos eventually caught up with the little hamlet, and it was not long before the townspeople succumbed. As buildings burned and innocents were shot in the streets, she had quickly made up her mind to flee into the forest that surrounded her former home. All she managed to scrounge up was a basic survival kit and one of her favorite owls. She had trained it since it had first hatched, so she harbored a particular fondness for it. The other owls could survive just fine. She knew that they had accumulated plenty of experience in the wild before they came to their new home in her sanctuary.

Now a month had passed since Lomadia had left her previous life behind. The summer air was thick and humid, the shade of the many tall oak trees providing no escape from the sweltering heat. The constant droning of cicadas and mosquitos served as the forest's main soundtrack this time of year, for it seemed that even the birds were too hot to sing. The former owl keeper wiped her brow as she pushed through some shrubbery, the back of her shirt drenched in sweat. After forcing her way through more thick gatherings of bushes, Lomadia soon found herself in a familiar clearing by the bank of a river. The dirt here was damp and well-packed, and the flattened blades of grass suggested that one had been frequenting the place for at least a couple of days. The blonde slipped off her light blue backpack and set it down next to the remains of last night's campfire, glad to finally get its heavy weight off of her shoulders. She then turned and headed towards the river, kneeling down to splash her face and cool herself off. Despite the immense amount of dryness of her throat, she dare not take a drink. In a fit of desperation last week (or what she believed to be last week), she had learned the difficulties of imbibing river water without boiling it first. The days that followed were an ordeal she would rather not experience again.

Once she had scrubbed her hands clean of most dirt and grime, Lomadia stood and turned to survey her makeshift campsite again. Noticing a certain someone missing, the blonde gave a quick, two-tone whistle that vaguely resembled the sound of someone calling "yoo-hoo." Soon her call was echoed somewhere over her head. Lomadia looked up to see the familiar greyish-brown feathers of a long-eared owl perched in a nearby tree, its identification bracelet still dangling from one of its legs. The bird almost appeared to be smiling as it peered down to its master, causing Lomadia to give a bit of a laugh.

"Mr. Owl! There you are, you silly sausage! Playing hide and seek again, are you?" The blonde asked despite the fact that she knew her feathered companion wouldn't give a proper answer. Mr. Owl only gave a single, cheerful hoot in reply. Once she was assured that her owl was safe and sound, Lomadia dried her hands on the front of her shirt and moved to kneel by her backpack by the fire pit. The leaves of a tree branch rustled as Mr. Owl swooped down to join her. After tucking back her messy bangs away from her face, the blonde unzipped her bag and peered inside. Sitting atop some winter clothes, a basic survival guide, a small cooking pot, and a rudimentary first aid kit were two sizable cloth rucksacks. Lomadia snatched them both up and untied them, revealing the food she had gathered for dinner that night. In one was a various mix of berries and other edible greenery while the other contained a few dead mice for Mr. Owl. After looking over her spoils for tonight, the owl keeper gave a bit of a frown.

"Not much to eat to night, unfortunately." She mused. Mr. Owl had already started tearing into his dinner, paying little attention to his owner whilst he ate. Lomadia couldn't help but give a long sigh. "Too bad I don't have any twine for a trap. I miss eating meat..."

Suddenly, the rustling of bushes nearby snapped the blonde from her thoughts of hunger. Her back instantly straightened as she turned her head to look in the direction the noise had originated. Now on full alert, Lomadia listened in silence as the sound of leaves rustled somewhere past the treeline. Usually noises such as these were common in a forest with diverse wildlife, but this time it was different. Something was off. Whatever was making the racket was big, and it was heading right towards her.

Slowly and silently climbing to her feet, Lomadia instinctively reached for the handgun that rested in its holster on her belt. It was one of the few weapons she had managed to get a hold of while making her escape into the woods. Her only other alternatives were the hunting knife and small hatchet that currently hung from two separate loops on her backpack. Her ammunition was running low - she had less than a single cartridge left - but it was still deadly if used correctly. By now Mr. Owl had also noticed the strange rustlings and had looked up from his meal to try and see what was causing it.

"Quiet." Lomadia ordered in a low tone. Without voicing a reply, the owl quickly flew up and perched onto his master's left shoulder as quietly as possible, his feathers ruffling up as he lowered his head. The bird of prey prepared to strike, and Lomadia carefully began to make her approach. She reentered the treeline and stepped lighltly, trying not to reveal her position by the sound of the brush crunching under her hiking boots. Soon the blonde neared another small clearing further down the river bank. She crouched down and hid among the undergrowth as she waited to get a visual on whatever her mysterious target was. Mr. Owl ruffled his feathers and flexed his talons again, practically shuddering with anticipation for some kind of fight. Soon the bushes across the small clearing parted, revealing the source of all the commotion.

Lomadia was surprised to see a full-grown horse saunter its way into the open. Its hoof beats clicked softly against the hard-packed dirt below it as it walked along. The horse's fur was a healthy reddish-brown, save for a few white splotches around its nose, left shoulder, and hindquarters. Its mane and tail were a medium-length sandy blonde, and despite the circumstances, it appeared to be pretty well groomed. It was then that Lomadia noticed the creature's rider. He was a lanky young man, probably just a year or two older than she was. His striking blue eyes were just beginning to be dimmed by the dark circles forming underneath them, but otherwise he appeared to be mentally sound enough. He wore a simple blue and white striped T-shirt with some brown pants and black riding boots, but the blonde could see a faded red coat draped atop his stache of belongings strapped on behind the saddle.

Lomadia continued to watch the stranger as he stopped his mount with a light pull of the reigns. Then he stepped down from the saddle, ran a hand through his chestnut-colored hair, and contemplatively scratched at his goatee. As the horse moved to get a drink from the stream, the man pulled some sort of rolled up parchment from a loop on his bag. He swatted away a few pesky mosquitos before he unrolled the paper and took a look at it, muttering something to himself as he did. Despite currently facing away from the blonde, Lomadia could not tell exactly what he was looking at. According to his relaxed demeanor, he had yet to be made aware of her presence. Time to change that.

Acting both quickly and quietly, Lomadia entered the clearing, her gun locked and loaded. The stranger had just reached into his pocket to grab something when Lomadia aimed her weapon and turned off the safety.

"Hands in the air!" She ordered in a firm, demanding tone of voice. The man jumped at her sudden command and began to turn around, but he wisely thought against it, dropped his paper, and raised his hands high above his head as he had been instructed. A small black box slipped out of his right pant pocket and clattered down beside the piece of parchment. Lomadia could now recognize them as a map and a compass.

"Listen, I mean no harm. I'm just passing through." The stranger said, glancing over his shoulder slightly. "Put the gun down and we can handle this diplomatically."

Lomadia took a moment to consider his words. Looking him over again, she noticed a blade in a sheath and strapped to his back. It was too big to be considered any type of knife. Where the hell did he manage to get a sword nowadays? Mr. Owl began to click his beak threateningly, unfurling his wings in case he needed to take flight at a moment's notice. Meanwhile, the man's horse began to grow anxious. It gave a worried whinny and stamped its two front hooves rapidly and repeatedly, uncertain whether to intervene or not. The stallion was calmed when its master flicked a dismissive wrist in its direction.

"Hush, Atreyu." He ordered. By now Lomadia had made up her mind. She lowered her gun, but hesitated to even blink as she kept her eyes trained on man standing before her.

"Fine. But if you even reach for that machete or whatever it is on your back, I won't hesitate to fill you with holes." She told him. Mr. Owl's ill-temperament was eased by his owner's words, and he relaxed his rigid posture. Despite this, he still watched the stranger with a judgmental glare, not trusting him so easily. The man lowered his hands and turned around, getting a good look at his aggressor for the first time. The two locked eyes for a moment, blue irises staring into a deep green. Neither survivor was exactly sure how to move past their rough first impression and continue their interaction. After a moment, the man placed a hand on his chest to indicate himself before he spoke again.

"Xephos." He awkwardly introduced himself before gesturing to his horse. "That's Atreyu. Sorry if we stumbled across your camp or whatever. I didn't think anyone else was out this far."

As Xephos crouched down to pick up his things, Lomadia and Mr. Owl shared a brief look that expressed their mutual feelings of apprehension regarding the strange swordsman that had all of a sudden appeared on their doorstep. Once the exchange was complete, Lomadia looked back towards Xephos. The man was currently busying himself by dusting off the dirt from his fallen compass.

"Name's Lomadia. This here's Mr. Owl." She returned the introduction. "You never know what crazy shit you can find out here. Best be careful next time."

"Well, it's been a pleasure talking with you, Lomadia, but I think it's high time I get going." Xephos suddenly said with the hint of a nervous chuckle. He hastily rolled up his map and placed it back in its proper spot among his belongings before doing the same with his compass. As he began to climb back up onto Atreyu's back, Lomadia made him freeze with a simple question.

"May I ask where you're going?" The blonde inquired. Xephos' shoulders visibly tensed upon hearing her words, but he looked back over his shoulder and put on a sunny smile nonetheless.

"Uh...why do you ask?"

"With that map and that compass, you seem to have a destination in mind." The blonde mused. She turned her handgun's safety back on before crossing her arms, careful not to accidently send a bullet into somewhere it shouldn't be. "So I ask again: where are you going?"

Xephos was obviously reluctant to answer, but a few seconds of being subjected to Lomadia's interrogative gaze pried the answer from his lips. He gave a small sigh and finished climbing back onto his horse before replying.

"I've caught wind that some survivors up north are getting together in this old fort. Heard they're trying to get a little community going. I've decided to head up there and take my chances with them rather than on my own."

"Oh are they now?" Lomadia asked. Part of her was still suspicious of both the stranger and his motives, but the idea of a proper home again was all too promising. When she left her burning town behind, she had basically given up hope of things every returning to normal. But now, there was a chance for just that to happen; for her to return to a semi-normal life with a nice house, running water, and indoor plumbing. It was a slim chance, but a chance nonetheless. If she could at least see what it was like, then she could decide if staying was worth her time or not. All in all, it seemed like a good risk to take. "Care if I tag along at all?"

"Sorry, but I'd prefer to travel alone. I can manage just fine." Xephos replied with very little consideration of the offer. As he pulled on the reigns to guide Atreyu to turn, the blonde woman stopped him again. She wore the slightest of knowing smirks as she continued her line of questioning.

"Oh really? Well then, do you have a gun in that big pack of items?"

"Uh, no."

"How about an axe?"

"Um..."

"What about one of those Survival 101 books? Know how to make a rabbit trap at all? Or is Mister Wilderness here so much of a pro that he doesn't need it?"

"Alright, alright! Maybe I'm not so great on my own out here." Xephos huffed. After another brief moment of silent consideration, he looked back down to Lomadia below him. "Fine. I'll take you up north. Just don't try anything fishy, okay?"

"Can we shake on it?" Lomadia offered her free hand for a proper handshake, fully expecting him to take it and confirm their deal. "You lead me up north, and I make sure you don't get your ass killed somehow. Seems pretty fair to me."

"You're enjoying this way too much." Xephos muttered bitterly. Still, he stepped back down off of his mount and shook the blonde's hand. The deal was officially set.

"Excellent! Now come on, I'm just about to start dinner. Hope you like blueberries, tough guy."

With a contented smile, Lomadia turned back around and moved to return to her makeshift campsite. As she walked away, Mr. Owl swiveled his head around to continue glaring at the man for a few more seconds. Then he faced forward and took to the air, eager to continue his plate of mice from a few minutes prior. Xephos gave another annoyed sigh as he led Atreyu after his odd new partner, still not entirely sure what to make of the situation. He cast a glace aside to his horse whilst they both followed, slapping and killing a few more troublesome mosquitos as he did so.

"I'm not sure about you, buddy, but I think we just roped ourselves into a giant heap of trouble." He groaned. A seed of doubt regarding his new deal with a complete stranger had already rooted itself somewhere in the pit of his stomach. The stallion only gave a snort out of his nose as he followed his reluctant master into the next clearing. Lomadia had just started on the beginnings of a fire, her cooking pot already filled to the brim with water from the river. Xephos could only hope that he would make it out of this alive.


	2. Chapter 2

Xephos found himself rudely awakened the next day when he felt something begin to peck at his forehead. He reluctantly opened his eyes and glanced upwards to see Mr. Owl perched atop his head. The bird's neck was craned to the side as he stared at the unfamiliar human with curious intensity. Then Mr. Owl jabbed Xephos with his beak again, causing the man to yelp and swat the troublesome bird away.

"Ow! You shove off!" He shouted. Mr. Owl retreated to the branches of a small oak as Xephos sat up from leaning back against its trunk. Still casting a bit of a glare upwards, the man stretched out his neck muscles and climbed to his feet. The mass of tangled branches overhead made it difficult to see where the sun was positioned in the sky, but the amount of illumination surrounding the camp suggested it was mid-morning. The grey gloom of sunrise had already passed, and the intense summer heat was just beginning to flare up again. The majority of insects had yet to emerge from their nightly hiding places, so the only sound was the trickling water in the nearby stream and the occasional bird call from elsewhere in the emerald forest. Wiping the sleep away from his eyes, Xephos looked around and saw Lomadia finishing up with packing her backpack. Atreyu was already up and about, boredly digging at the dirt with his hoof by the tree where he was tied.

"Morning." Xephos greeted with another small yawn. Lomadia zipped up her bag before giving a reply.

"Morning." The blonde echoed. She stood and slipped her light blue backpack onto her back, blowing a stray strand of hair away from her eyes in the process. "Hope you're ready to set off soon."

"Huh? But I just woke up! And what about breakfast?" The man said in protest. Lomadia just shot him a look of pure annoyance.

"Well next time don't sleep in until bloody noon! And it's called eating on the road. We're leaving in ten minutes tops. Got it?"

"Fine. Have it your way."

Xephos turned with a huff as he moved to get ready in the little time he had. The man walked over to the riverbank and knelt before the stream, taking a moment to splash his face and further rid himself of his sleepiness. Once that was taken care of, Xephos stood back up and hurried over to Atreyu, greeting his horse with a friendly pat on the muzzle. The man then took a moment to go over his supplies. One large sleeping bag, his red winter coat, a makeshift fishing spear, an electric lantern with full battery life, some matches, a few cooking utensils, and various bits of scrap he had collected along the way. These bits and bobs consisted of mainly rope, twine, a few pairs of rusted scrap metal an iron filings, and old aluminum cans that could be repurposed as containers. Everything appeared to be in its proper place.

Once taking inventory, Xephos unhitched Atreyu from the tree and led him over to where Lomadia was waiting. By now Mr. Owl had flown down from his perch to sit atop his master's shoulder. Both had a similar look of impatience upon their faces as they watched their new companions take an eternity to get ready. Ignoring their annoyance with him, Xephos pulled the map from its loop on his pack and unrolled it, motioning for Lomadia to come and examine it with him. When the blonde drew close enough so that she could see the paper's contents clearly, Xephos began to explain.

"This here is the general region for about 5,000 square miles." He explained. He pointed to a black dot in the upper right corner of the map that had been circled in red ink. "That there is where we're headed."

"Alright. So how far away are we?" Lomadia asked. Xephos didn't give an answer immediately. Instead he gave a hum of thought as he surveyed the layout of the map again. After a moment of consideration, he pointed to a location within the splotch of green that made up about three-fourths of the region. His finger landed right beside an irregular blue line that jutted across the paper. Lomadia could only assume that this line represented the river.

"Around here, from what I can tell." The man told her. Lomadia instinctively cringed. Xephos' finger had found itself within the lower left quadrant of the map. The two were nowhere close to their destination at all.

"That certainly looks like a long way. Any idea how long it'll take?" The blonde asked next. Xephos only looked at her as he gave a shrug.

"I have no idea, honestly. Three months, maybe? Hopefully we can get there before winter sets in." He replied. Lomadia gave a groan.

"Great. That's just flipping fantastic."

"As for the route we'll take..." Xephos began again, recapturing the blonde's attention beside him. He traced the map's jagged blue line and stopped about halfway up the piece of parchment. "We can follow the river north until we get to about here. Then we turn northeast and cut straight through the mountains." He swept a finger diagonally across the map as he said this. After his explanation, the man looked to Lomadia again. "Sound like a plan to you?"

"I don't care how we do it as long as we get there." The blonde replied as she crossed her arms. Xephos acknowledged her reply with a nod before rolling up the map and slipping it back onto his pack.

"Alright. Then I guess we should be off." He replied. Lomadia nodded and began to adjust the heavy bag on her back. She certainly hated travelling with it on. It slowed her down and made it harder to run from any hypothetical threats. But if she wanted her supplies, she would have to power through it.

"Want the first turn on Atreyu?" The voice interrupted the blonde's thoughts. She looked over to see Xephos gesturing to his steed's empty saddle. Lomadia blinked twice in disbelief while Mr. Owl twisted his neck at the man in confusion.

"Wait. You're serious?"

"Of course! The world may have lost its head, but that's no excuse for being rude, now is it?"

Lomadia considered Xephos' words for a moment, eventually flashing her new ally a smile.

"And they said chivalry was dead." She laughed.

"Though you only get him for a few hours. I would still like to get a load off of my feet every once and a while too." Xephos added. As Lomadia moved to mount Atreyu, the stallion gave a whine of protest as he began to stamp his hooves again.

"Hey, be nice. I still got you." Xephos voice was firm as he gripped the reigns and kept his horse calm. Atreyu complied, but he seemed to shoot Lomadia a suspicious glare before he let her get settled in the saddle. In response, the blonde smiled again as she patted the horse's neck.

"Don't worry. Soon you and I will be the best of friends." She said, only half-joking. Xephos rolled his eyes again and began to walk upstream, still leading his horse by the reigns. Mr. Owl took to the sky above the trees and began to circle, his keen eyes watching out for any possible threats. After a moment, Xephos spoke up again.

"So, about breakfast..."

"More berries. What else?"

"Great." The man sighed again as he heard his stomach begin to growl. He could already tell that day was going to be a long one.

* * *

><p><em>Author's Note: This chapter was slow due to the need to finish establishing everything. Things will be more action-y in the next few chapters as the real journey begins. Stay tuned!<em>

_-DR_


	3. Chapter 3

The survivors completed their first day of traveling with relative ease. Every few hours or so Xephos and Lomadia would switch places, allowing one to rest their feet on Atreyu while the other marched on foot. By the evening of the first day they had found a place to camp for the night. It was then that the two decided to share inventory. Lomadia's eyes practically lit up when she saw all the random odds and ends Xephos had gathered while out on his own. For the rest of that evening she toiled away with some twine and scrap metal, trying to perfect a crude animal trap with the assistance of her survival handbook. The blonde worked by a mix of light from the fire and the electric lanturn, dancing oranges and fluorescent blues mingling as she toiled away. Xephos had long since dozed off on the other side of the camp. She eventually stopped for the night when a piece of taut twine snapped and etched a small cut into her right index finger.

The next day dawned some hours later, and the two set off at mid-morning again. Apparently, Xephos still had to adjust his sleeping schedule to meet Lomadia's "early bird" routine. As planned, they continued to follow the river upstream. The day's progress was slower here. The shrubs and underbrush had accumulated in great numbers along this bank of the river, making it quite difficult to find proper footing. The heat of mid-July had caused the low-growing plant life to wither away into nothing more than prickly dry husks, their verdant green color lost and forgotten ages ago. Atreyu often flicked his head and figeted as he trekked through patches of itchy bristles. Whenever it was his turn on foot, Xephos would occasionally spit out a sharp curse word when his leg somehow wound up ensnared by a coil of the unforgiving thorns. The party's footsteps were impossible to soften in this patch of land. Each shift of weight, no matter how minor, resulted in a crisp, permeating crunch of dead leaves and shattered twigs. As a result, any small creatures in the perimeter were no doubt scared off by their awful racket. If Lomadia's trap was ever going to be put to use, it definately wouldn't be effective here.

Soon it began to grow dark, so the small band of survivors were forced to stop at another clearing. This one was not directly beside the river itself, but it was within walking distance, and the soft trickling of the moss-ridden water could still be heard. Lomadia dropped her bag onto a patch of grass, and her exhausted body almost followed it to the ground. Xephos gently urged Atreyu to stop before he dismounted, releasing his grip on his mount's reigns. Both were drenched in sweat from the day's immense humidity. As Lomadia plopped down beside her bag to take a rest, Mr. Owl found a perch somewhere in a tree along the edge of the clearing. Atreyu gave a sharp exhale out of his snout, appearing to be just as relieved as the others to turn in for the night. Xephos soon found himself scratching at his bugbite-ridden arms again. The past few days had left his forearms dotted with multiple pink bumps and splotches. For whatever reason, the mosquitos here saw him as a walking five-star buffet, and unfortunately for him, neither he nor Lomadia carried any pest repellant.

"I'll be right back." He eventually told the others. The man then turned and walked towards the sound of the river, hoping that the stream's cool water would ease his irritated skin. He was almost out of the clearing before he stopped, appearing to have suddenly remembered something. He turned back around to grabbed a cooking pan from his pack of supplies.

"Thought I'd better bring back some water for tonight." He explained himself. Lomadia gave him a wave of acknowledgement as he disappeared past the treeline, his lean silhouette becoming indistinguishable from the regular darkness at the base of the trees. By now bluish-purple sky was beginning to darken even further, nearing a deep raven black. The crescent moon had emerged and started to climb far above the treeline, and a few twinkling stars were already standing their nightly vigil.

Deciding that she had rested her aching muscles enough, Lomadia rose to her feet and set about preparing a fire. At least the summer heat was good for one thing; it provided lots of dry plant life for proper kindling. The former owl keeper began to follow the edge of the oval-shaped clearing, her hatchet clasped tightly in her left hand and Xephos' electric lantern in her right. The bright neon-blue glow made it easy to find the low-hanging branches. The blonde swiftly used her hatchet to break off one tree limb she deemed suitable. The sound of the tool slamming against the rough bark rang out far across the forest, silencing the nearby crickets and cicadas that had started their song. As she worked, Lomadia's chopping was sometimes accompanied by low-toned hoots and whistles from Mr. Owl nearby. The calls spanned out and escaped into the blackness of the thick trees, and every so often another owl would give a reply. Mr. Owl looked content whenever he recieved an answer.

The branch finally broke off with a mighty snap, and Lomadia dragged it back to the center of the clearing. She then quickly chopped it up into smaller pieces before she readied the base of the fire. Once kindling from dried leaves and underbrush was applied, Lomadia lit a match and watched the bright flames erupt skywards, eagerly consuming the wood and leaves until they grew into a sizable campfire. With the fire going, the blonde turned off the lantern and set it aside. After a moment, Atreyu sauntered up from her left and settled down within the circle of warm orange light radiating from the flames. He appeared to still be ruminating on a few blades of long grass. Much like the others, the stallion no doubt wished to rest his legs for a while. It was then that Mr. Owl flew down and perched on his master's shoulder. The bird lightly tapped at Lomadia's cheek with his beak in order to get her attention.

"What's wrong, boy?" She asked. In response, the owl simply opened his beak and waited as if expecting something. Lomadia immediately realized that he was asking for food.

"Sorry, we didn't find any mice today. Go see if you can catch some yourself, you lazy bum." The blonde had a joking tone as she made a shooing motion with her hand, encouraging Mr. Owl to go on and hunt. The bird of prey almost appeared disappointed before he spread his wings and fluttered into the air again. Lomadia watched him circle around the clearing once before he swerved in mid-air, darting off past the treeline and towards a place uknown.

Mr. Owl's hunger had reminded the blonde of her own. As if on cue, her stomach growled rather loudly, and the sharp emptiness in her gut felt as if it had suddenly multiplied in size. Today had not been a good day provisions-wise, and their difficult hike had made her all the more hungry. No meat, no berries, no anything.

"If I fucking starve to death I am going to be so pissed." She muttered bitterly. Atreyu seemed to reply to her words with another sharp exhale. It reminded the blonde of a tired sigh.

The crickets were abruptly silenced again when a startled scream came whirling through the dense trees. Atreyu gave a bit of a start and a worried whinny as Lomadia's back straightened at the sudden noise. After realizing it came from the direction of the river, the blonde immediately leapt to her feet.

"Xephos? Xephos!"

In truth, during her work and her musings, she had conpletely forgotten that the man had wandered off towards the stream to fetch some water. Lomadia snatched up the electric lantern as she hurried past, taking off through the trees and towards the river a moment later. Her handgun was already loaded and the safety was already off. The woman was prepared for any threat.

Lomadia emerged from the trees and stepped onto the rocky shore of the riverbank about twenty seconds after Xephos had first cried out. She quickly scanned the dimly-lit area, flicking the lantern back on and waiting for her eyes to readjust to the sudden brightness. The crescent moon overhead provided minimal extra lighting, its distorted silver image dancing on the river close by. Lomadia eventually distinguished Xephos' silhouette from the other murky shadows surrounding her. The man stood off to her right, close to where the water mingled with the bank. As she drew closer, the lantern revealed half of his face, his visible eye hardened with a nervous state of focus. The blade from off of his back was currently held out defensively in front of him. The new lighting made it easy to see that the sword's tip had been dabbed with a splotch of fresh blood.

"Xephos-?"

"Careful!" The man suddenly shouted. His words cut Lomadia's sentence short. His eye made visible by the glow of the lantern did not shift to glance at her. Lomadia was about to question the strangeness of the situation when a new and unexpected sound rang out across the open riverbank. It was an angry, hateful squeal from some sort of pig. A loud, gutteral grunt and the stamping of hooves followed immediately after. Lomadia held the electric lantern out further in front of her, better illuminating her surroundings. The neon light soon revealed the shape of a large bristle-backed boar. Its pointed ivory tusks glinted with the light from the lantern as it grunted again, yellow eyes radiating with anger and ill-temperament. It was obvious that the beast was far from pleased. A deep gash had been etched into the boar's backside, the wound still oozing with wet crimson blood. It appeared that Xephos had been unfortunate enough to stumble upon the home of the creature while it was still nearby, and he had slashed it in a form of reflexive self-defense.

The boar gave some sort of enraged howl as it turned to face Lomadia. It tore at the gravel below it with its feet before lunging forward, entering a powerful charge. Xephos might have called out something to the blonde, but if he had, she had tuned it out. Lomadia was all too focused on the approaching threat to allow her attention to slip anywhere else. As the angry boar grew near, she raised her handgun and fired two shots. The mini-explosions within the weapon created two brief flashes of white light amongst the persistant darkness surrounding the scene. The first bullet struck the boar in the snout, and the second one found its place in the beast's forehead a split second later. The boar gave another squeal as it lost control of its legs and fell flat on the ground, its impact kicking up multiple rocks and pieces of gravel. The animal gave a prolonged, pitiful whine as the life left it, and it soon became completely still. The boar's deep red blood still glistened in the light of the lantern as it pooled, seeping deep into the many gaps of the rocky, uneven riverbank.

The crunch of boots against gravel approaching recaptured Lomadia's attention. She turned away from the dead wild pig to see Xephos walking up to her. The man slipped his sword back into the sheath on his back as turned to examine the thing that had attacked him.

"Well, that takes care of that, I suppose." He spoke, scratching the back of his head as he did. He cast a glance to Lomadia beside him. "Uh, thanks for the help. I had it covered, though."

In response, Lomadia just cast him a knowing smile.

"Sure. Let's go with that."

"But I did! I had my sword and - oh, nevermind." Xephos looked unamused again before he returned to examining the dead boar laying at their feet. "I guess we do have some dinner tonight, after all."

"And thank god for that. I'm starving." Lomadia muttered. The two worked together to heave the massive pig up off of the ground and carry it back towards their makeshift camp. Atreyu looked relieved to see his owner still in one piece, and Mr. Owl appeared to still be out on his flight. Once the boar's carcass was in place, Xephos and Lomadia walked back to the river to rinse off the pig blood from their hands and fetch another pan of water to boil. Lomadia used her hatchet to cut off edible strips of pork and turn them over in the frying pan as they cooked over the fire. By now Mr. Owl had returned from his hunting trip. Based on the satisfied look on his face, the bird of prey had managed to snatch up a mouse or two. Still, that didn't stop him from stealing a small piece of pork when he thought Xephos and Lomadia weren't looking.

After finishing up their meal, the two human survivors carried the remains of the dead boar back to the river and tossed it in, not wanting it to attract even bigger threats.

"The fish can have a go at it," Lomadia said. The two quickly washed their hands again before heading back to camp. After restocking the fire with a few more pieces of fallen timber, the two sat down next to Atreyu and Mr. Owl. The horse and the owl appeared to have already dozed off beside the fire, their mellow breathing almost in perfect sync with one another.

"I suppose we should follow their example." Xephos jerked his thumb in the direction of their two animal companions and gave a bit of a laugh. Lomadia couldn't help but smile in return. Her pleasant mood was partly due to the fact that her stomach was full for the first time in weeks. She figured Xephos was in a similar situation.

"Yeah, that seems like a good idea. Try not to sleep past noon again, alright?"

"I'll try not to."

The two fell asleep side by side that night. Both ended up using Atreyu's side as a headrest. The small campfire kept them warm throughout most of the night as the crickets and cicadas went on with their nightly songs. The stars and the crescent moon watched over the small band of survivors whilst they slept, their full bellies keeping them satisfied. All was well.


	4. Chapter 4

About a day after their encounter with the boar, the two survivors and their respective animals continued to make steady progress north along the river. Lomadia had eventually gotten her makeshift trap to more or less work. The end result resembled an old fashioned mousetrap. It was small and could only work on things such as rabbits or squirrels, but nevertheless the spring-loaded contraption worked like a charm. Xephos and Lomadia had a steady supply of meat from then on, accumulating smaller portions throughout the day for a large dinner.

Soon afterwards Xephos had thought up an idea of his own. Reasoning that the two of them would be staying near water for most of their journey, the man used most of the leftover twine to set up some fishing lines whenever they stopped to camp. While not as reliable as Lomadia's trap, when the lines did manage to rope in something, the spoils were always large. The days on the road were still rather scarce, the days they rested always seemed to make up for it.

By then a total of two weeks had already flown by. Progress had indeed been made, but the map continuously reminded them that they still had a long way to go.

"You know what? I should make a bow." Lomadia suddenly muse out loud. Her words caused Xephos to peer over his shoulder to look back at the blonde behind him as they both marched along.

"Can you even use a bow?" He asked. Although he did not intentionally mean to sound so, his words came off as skeptical. Atreyu then flicked his head and snorted, causing his master to take a moment to calm him with a light tug downwards on the reigns. Mr. Owl sat perched in the empty saddle, apparently intrigued by the two humans' conversation.

"Well, not exactly, no. At least not yet." Lomadia admitted, taking a moment to brush some of her messy golden hair away from her eyes. Still, she wore a bright smile of confidence as she continued. "But I'm a quick learner, and the handbook makes it look easy! Just carve out some wood, use some twine, get a few sticks and flint for the arrows. Not a problem at all."

"Well I hope you're good at woodworking then, because I'm sure as hell not crafting it for you. Watch your step there." Xephos paused to gesture towards a patch of uneven terrain he had nearly stumbled over. The blonde gave him her thanks and easily stepped over it before the two continued on their way.

The day was cool and grey due to a welcomed and long-awaited overcast. It was still summer and it was still warm, but the clouds provided a much-needed refuge from the sun's intense yellow rays. It was mid-afternoon, probably around three o'clock. While following the river as planned, the group eventually found that at one point the stream changed from a calm trickle into huge rushing rapids. Even with the water levels lessened this time of year, they still looked large enough and fast enough to be considered dangerous. The two were especially mindful of them now that they were forced to follow a narrow stretch of traversable path just above them, and one misstep could easily result in a bad fall into the raging river.

Atreyu began to grow uneasy once more, causing Xephos to calm him again. The stallion had grown flighty when he saw the precarious path they had to cross, so Xephos had decided it was best for neither he nor Lomadia to ride him in this state. Without a firm hand guiding him, Atreyu could be easily startled and accidentally send his rider into the churning white water below. Meanwhile, due to the fact that he had been gifted with the ability of flight, Mr. Owl did not seem to be worried at all.

The two soon stopped on a wider stretch of ground to catch their breath. The regular sounds of the forest were overpowered by the rushing water that flowed below them. The dark-colored rock of the cliff face was smooth, so Xephos found that he could lean back against it rather comfortably. Lomadia set down her backpack and paused to wipe her brow. Atreyu was calm at the moment, but he remained as far away from the edge as possible.

"How long have we been hiking today?" Lomadia asked after a minute or two. Xephos shrugged before reaching a hand into his pocket to pull out his trusty compass.

"Forever, it feels like." The man muttered. He scratched at his goatee as he waited for the compass to calibrate itself, only to quickly thrust it back into his pocket when it told him the direction. "This path here has moved us a bit east, but it should loop us back around eventually if we just follow the river. You ready to start up again?"

"Yeah, sure, let's go. Hopefully we get to better ground soon." Lomadia replied. She then turned and bent down to grab her supplies again. Xephos had already stood straight and moved to grab Atreyu's reigns when a sudden, sharp cracking sound echoed from nearby. Out of the corner of his eye, Xephos saw Lomadia begin to lose her balance as the ground beneath her began to shift.

"Lomadia! Get away from there!" He shouted instinctively, but he already knew that the blonde couldn't move with her current instability. Still driven by impulse, Xephos rushed over and grabbed Lomadia's arm to steady her, but his sudden addition of weight caused another loud crack to sound from below. Less than a second later the ground below their feet crumbled and gave way, and both Xephos and Lomadia were plunged into the angry rapids below.

The cold from the river was even colder than unexpected, and for a moment Lomadia's nerves were completely shot. The strong current tossed her around in every direction possible, so by the time the blonde regained control of her muscles, she had lost track of which way up was. Her back collided with what felt like a rock suddenly, sending a fresh pain rocketing up and down her spine. She tried to open her eyes to look around, but all she saw were murky shades of bluish-grey and flashes of foamy white bubbles. Suddenly the current violently jerked her upwards, and seconds later her head breached the surface.

Instantly Lomadia took in the deepest breath she could in the short time she had. Her nose and mouth burned from unwanted intakes of river water while still submerged. While still disoriented, the blonde tried her best to comprehend her surroundings. Up above she caught the blurred form of Mr. Owl fluttering about in a panic. Atreyu tried to keep up back up on the cliff path, but Lomadia's head was forced under again. Seconds later she resurfaced and coughed up another unwanted mouthful of water, but even that was interuppted when she was spun around by the current and slammed face-first into another obstacle. Thankfully, the blonde managed to absorb most of the impact with her arms and chest rather than her head.

Now Lomadia found herself pinned between another rock and the pounding force of the river. With stinging eyes and blurry vision, she began to frantically look this way and that for any possible way out from the rapids or for any signs of Xephos. Unfortunately for her, the dark-colored cliffs on either side of this stretch of the river were nearly vertical, and the smooth surface of the rock had no visible footholds. Lomadia looked around again, but she could not locate Xephos anywhere. Up above, Mr. Owl tried to call down to her, but all the blonde could hear besides a constant ringing in her ears was the constant flow of water rushing past.

The pull of the river unexpectedly shifted after a few seconds, and Lomadia felt herself get yanked back under the water again. She managed a small breath beforehand, but it escaped her lungs almost immediately when something sharp grazed her left leg as the rapids whirled her by it. After a few more seconds she resurfaced a third time, her head spinning again from the constant push and pull of the fierce rapids. Despite the new pain in her leg, she kicked and treaded water the best she could, but she remained at the mercy of the current. She hadn't seen the slightest glimpse of Xephos since they had initially fallen from the cliff. Where was he? Perhaps the man had been unfortunate enough to have been killed on impact by landing on rocks that were hidden just below the surface. She hoped that that possibility wasn't what actually transpired.

Unfortunately, it seemed Lomadia's terrible luck that day kept on getting worse. Stuck with no way out of the churning white rapids and having lost Xephos in all the confusion, the blonde had originally thought that things were as bad as they could get. She was ultimately proven wrong, however, when she looked farther downstream to see the river suddenly fall away into nothing.

Lomadia instantly recognized the approaching waterfall and hurried to try and grab onto another rock, but they were all too slippery for her to get a proper hold of them. The woman mentally cursed, already feeling the waterfall getting closer and closer by the second. The drop could be anywhere from a few feet to five hundred, and no matter how high, it still sounded like an experience that she would rather avoid altogether.

The drop was almost upon her now, and most of the remaining foundations she could cling to were out of her reach. She was doomed.

All of a sudden a hand shot out and grabbed her right wrist as the current tried to whisk her past and over the edge of the waterfall. Momentarily confused, Lomadia looked up to see Xephos clinging to a large tree branch snagged between two more jagged black rocks. The blonde noticed that he had a few shallow cuts erched into his face. One of them, located on his right cheek, was still bleeding slightly. The minor abrasions were presumably from being slammed into something hard by the current. Besides the cuts, the man appeared to still be in one piece. By now Lomadia had reached up with her other hand and latched onto his arm with a death grip. Xephos adjusted his hold on the tree branch before attempting to pull the blonde closer, but the rapids were stubborn, and the waterfall remained dangerously close.

"Just hold on!" The blonde heard Xephos shout.

"What did you think I was bloody going to do, let go?!"

Xephos didn't reply as he shifted to plant his feet against one of the nearby rocks for better leverage. He pulled again, and this time it was enough to bring Lomadia closer to the branch. The blonde had just reached out to grab ahold of the fallen tree limb herself when a large swell of water unexpectedly rose up and washed over them. Lomadia was forced under the surface again, and she felt her grip on Xephos' arm slip away. Seconds later she felt herself get swept over the edge of the waterfall. Entering a free-fall, Lomadia could only close her eyes and wait for the forceful impact that would inevitably hit her sooner or later. It was then that a strong pair of arms suddenly wrapped around her from behind and pulled her close in mid-air. Before she could properly register what had happened, there was an impact and a loud splash. After that, everything instantly went black.

* * *

><p>Lomadia woke with a start and instantly started coughing up large quantities of river water. She turned her head and emptied her waterlogged lungs before wiping her mouth and pausing to catch her breath. The woman found that she was laying on her back, gazing up at the endlessly grey sky. Most of her body was still numb from a mix of exhaustion and the fact that she was still waking up from her state of deep unconciousness. As her senses began to return to her, Lomadia began to fully comprehend where she was. The damp dirt she lay back on and the soft trickling of a slow-flowing stream suggested that she was on another riverbank somewhere. The low rumbling of the waterfall echoed from out of sight. It sounded close by, probably no more than fifty feet upstream. The blonde was still cold and soaked to the bone, but miraculously she was alive.<p>

After a moment, Lomadia became aware of something clasping tightly her left hand. Despite the muscles in her neck protesting, the blonde turned her head to see Xephos laying beside her. His head was rolled to the side and his eyes were still closed, apparently still unconcious. When Lomadia saw his hand intertwined with hers, she remembered how someone had grabbed her and pulled her close as she fell from the top of the waterfall. Putting two and two together, it was then that she realized that Xephos had been the one to follow her over the waterfall and pull her to the safety of the bank.

"You crazy bastard, you didn't." Lomadia heard herself tell him. A new sound reached her ears as she took her hand back from Xephos' grasp. She turned her gaze upwards again to see Mr. Owl circling overhead. The owl was once again frantically fluttering about before he eventually found enough sense to land. Lomadia heard Atreyu's heavy hoofbeats draw near moments later. The stallion whined and whinnyed as he hurriedly trotted over to Xephos, repeatedly nudging the man's face with his snout in an effort to rouse him. Lomadia forced her aching body to sit up when her owl landed in her lap. She couldn't help but smile slightly as she started stroking the top of Mr. Owl's head.

"Hey there, little guy. I'm fine." She cooed. Mr. Owl closed his amber eyes and let Lomadia scratch him, looking more than relieved already. Beside her, the blonde heard Xephos give a groan of protest as he raised his arms to shield his face from Atreyu's snout.

"Okay okay, I'm up, big guy. Cut it out." His words were groggy, but they were enough to get the stallion to stop. Xephos sat up as his horse backed up a few steps, pressing his palm to his forehead with another grunt.

"You okay?" Lomadia asked. Her sudden words once again caused Xephos to look at her. The abrasions on his face had stopped bleeding by now, by the looks of things.

"What? Oh, yeah. Just a headache." The man stopped talking for a brief moment in order to massage his temples. "What about you?"

Lomadia took a moment to examine herself before she gave her reply. A sore throbbing in her left leg caused her to look there first, and she remembered how something had jabbed her there while she was caught up in the rapids. Her jeans were torn at the outer calf slightly, making a small puncture wound visible. The skin around it was a bit red, but the injury itself didn't look all that bad. Still, something told her that her leg would remain sore for the next couple of days no matter what she did.

"I'll manage." She replied with a bit of a shrug. The blonde started to scan the bank again, and much to her surprise, her blue backpack had washed up slightly farther downstream. In the panic that was the rapids, she had completely forgotten about it.

"It's a bloody miracle." Lomadia said with a sigh of relief. She shooed Mr. Owl out of the way as she climbed to her feet before moving to retrieve her things. Despite a few small tears in the nylon bag here and there, everything was accounted for. However, the bag's contents were still completely soaked through. She had no idea how long it would take for everything to dry. Meanwhile, Xephos had forced himself to stand as well. He took a quick look around before glancing up at the cloudy sky overhead, his blue eyes reflecting his state of deep thought. Lomadia noticed his odd behavior, yet she hadn't the slightest idea what the man was musing about. She watched as he slipped his hands into his pockets, only to immediately pull them out to pat down he reat of his body.

"Oh shit." He muttered. Lomadia picked up her bag from the muddy bank and raised a brow at him.

"What?"

"My compass is gone!" He exclaimed. After double-checking his pockets, he tilted his head back and gave a frustrated groan up to the clouds. "Great! Fucking perfect!"

"Hey, relax, we still have the map, right?" Lomadia interjected. She pointed to the piece of parchment in question. It still rested with the rest of Xephos' belongings on Atreyu's back. Xephos gave a sharp exhale out of his nose as he ran a hand through his still-wet hair, brushing back the damp clumps that clung to his forehead. After a moment, he gave a sigh and a half-hearted shrug.

"I guess that's true." He muttered, remaining somewhat bitter. The man's bright blue eyes quickly skimmed the riverbank again, apparently examining their current surroundings. "We should set up camp here. It'll be sunset soon from what I can tell, and I doubt you want to travel anymore today after falling off the edge of a thirty-foot waterfall either."

"Sure, sounds good. Now let's make a fire. I'm soaking wet and freezing my ass off in the middle of summer over here."

Lomadia's words earned her a bit of a chuckle from Xephos as he turned to unpack a few things necessary for tonight's camp. The woman pulled out her waterlogged handgun from the holster strapped to her belt and began draining it. Mr. Owl was currently roosting in a nearby tree, and Atreyu wandered off to find some plants to eat once his owner had acquired all that he needed to. After a moment, the blonde cast a glance back over to Xephos. She bit her bottom lip thoughtfully for a moment, pausing from fixing her weapon as she debated something silently in her head. After a few more seconds of silence, she spoke up again.

"Hey, Xephos?"

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to say thanks. For pulling me out of the water, I mean."

"Oh, sure. No problem. I couldn't just let you drown like that, right?" The man turned his head and flashed her a warm smile as he continued to unpack some of his supplies. As he unzipped one of his bags, he waved a hand to motion for Lomadia to move closer. "I have some rope we can use as a drying rack. Come on and help me set this thing up."

"Yeah, alright. Good idea." Lomadia finished fiddling with her gun before slipping it back into its proper place on her belt. As she walked back over to help Xephos, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of awkwardness around the man at the moment. She allowed her mind to wander back to the image of her and Xephos' intertwined fingers from only a few minutes prior, but she quickly shook her head and forced the thought away.

"You crazy bastard." She repeated the words in a low whisper. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Xephos shoot her a glance and quirk an eyebrow at her.

"What was that?"

"Nothing important."


End file.
